There's a convergence going on: some big social and business trends that have one thing in common - the word open.

Whether it's open-source software, or enormous information repositories that are open to be accessed and sometimes even edited by anyone, or the growing requirements for transparency on the part of organizations and governments, your customers, supporters and audience are expecting you to be open to them.

Not just in the sense of open-minded... or having a contact form on your web site. But open in the sense that they know what you're doing, how it affects them, and why. That your organization's leadership is available and accountable. That they can engage with you and your brand as peers.

Books like Wikinomics and Tactical Transparency explain not only the forces driving the trend toward openness, but the real value that businesses and other organizations can gain when they let in some sunshine. Freeing some of your intellectual property, for instance, can allow your users to run with it - sometimes as brand ambassadors, other times as analysts who generate new and unexpected insights for you. And opening up internally, by creating a place for conversation that cu...

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I often have people ask me what it takes to have a 'top' blog. Instead of just rattling off my opinions, I decided to scan the Top 25 Marketing and Social Media blogs, and see if there were any common characteristics among them. Here's what I found that these blogs are doing to be so successful:

1 - They publish new posts often - Fourteen of the Top 25 blogs have published 5 or more posts so far this month. And seven of the Top 10 have published 9 or more. Finally, every blog that has published at least 10 posts so far this month, is ranked in the Top 11. New content drives traffic.

2 - Every blog/blogger listed in the Top 25 is on Twitter - Every blog has at least a link to their Twitter account, on their blog. Several have widgets on their blog that stream their Twitter updates straight to their blog. To me, this is a big sign of how important Twitter has become, but also that these bloggers understand the importance of connecting with their readers OFF their blog.

3 - Most bloggers provide multiple social sites where you can connect with them - Besides Twitter, most members of the Top 25 have several other social sites where you can find them, Tamar has about 30 or more... read more >>

I've been reading The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited by Emanuel Rosen, courtesy of Rosen himself. The book is a treasure trove of ideas and case studies on the way people share information and how ideas spread. 

Rather than give you a review of the book, which you can find on Amazon, I thought it would be useful to share some ideas and take aways that apply to content creation - the new business of marketing and communications.

1. Simplify someone's life. That's the appeal of Tim Ferriss, for example.

2. Evoke strong emotions about the art of marketing. Guy Kawasaki does that in person and across social media.

3. Be visual. That's very much the appeal with David Armano's work.

4. Tell a story in a way that is concrete and personal. An example of that is my tale of the Broad Street Run.

5. Share good ideas. Gary Vaynerchuk hits the spot on that one.

6. Make small talk in micro-interactions gain big impact. Chris Brogan didn't get 61,000+ followers on Twitter because he was talking to himself.

7. Create a new list. People like to see where things stack against each other. By far, the most popular list is still the one Todd And created and AdAge took over.

8. Give away secrets and tips to help o... read more >>

So far in this 10-part series, we've seen how blogs can help you give your organization a human voice, gain valuable feedback and create a communications alternative to news releases and advertising. Now we're going to look at how it can help you build relationships with your customers, your public and your team.

Most traditional communications and marketing stresses top-down flows: pushing out a message, and interrupting whatever your audience members would rather be doing to get it through to them. Feedback from your audience typically comes in the form of metrics, impressions, survey results and - if it all works out - the desired response to your call to action.

What's missing is human-to-human connection.

Blogging can help change that. It allows you to open a conversation, find areas of common ground, develop trust - and ultimately build a relationship.

Relationships can be valuable for both parties. They can get you through tough times: a kink in your supply chain, a cash flow crunch or a safety recall (peanuts, anyone?). People - customers, supporters or members of the public - who trust you are willing to give you more leeway, more time to solve problems, more benefit of the d... read more >>